James Alan Anslow

@John_Stepek ?? Yes it is..depending on when you got it.

Sorry, but Reeves is now in power, not in opposition, and needs to start focusing on that rather than the politics of smearing the opposition. Whatever you think of Liz Truss, your mortgage is not higher today than it was two years ago because of her.

@MelJStride @UKLabour But the benefit is hugely undersubscribed. It just means more people are likely to seek out and claim their entitlement.

Economic illiteracy from @UKLabour. Restricting Winter Fuel Payments to those on pension credit will see more pensioners going on to that benefit to qualify. Similar behavioural effects when free TV licenses were restricted to those on benefits. (1/3) telegraph.co.uk/money/pensions…

@IsabelOakeshott Please stop whipping up animus then.

Absolutely shocking scenes in Southport, as rioters hurl bricks and other missiles and target a mosque. It appears many of those causing trouble are outsiders who have travelled to the area. Appalling behaviour that is only making an already hideous situation worse.

@Cathyryanair I have now DMd you.

@Ryanair Why are you not giving water to child passengers held up for 2 hours on FR29 on the hottest day of the year? Outrageous. Press will pick this up. One child pount-blank refused water.

@Ryanair Plane has now taken off. Praps they can buy some water on the trolley..

@Ryanair Will do that. But not helpfull. They are on the plane at Stasted as I write. Your crew let them board a plane with no fuel.

@ammacj That is exactly the choice as 2019 general election showed. I remember New Labour gov being called Tory Lite etc and Blair ridiculed as Bambi. Yet its achievements, some of which I listed above, were radical, transformative and largely left untouched by Tory govs. Ditto Wilson's.

@AnslowJA It’s not simply a choice of current Labour vs Tories though, is it? Labour could and should be much much better. They choose not to. That’s their shame.

@ammacj Only 3 weeks old. Give it a chance

@AnslowJA You’re comparing this Labour Government against governments of 70 years ago? Really? On NHS why not pay more time on current Labour plans to stuff £s and staff to private companies, to detriment of NHS?

@ammacj 3. Starmer sees big picture that will take 10 years not short-term wins that could see party out of power in five. We'd be back to Tory government gutting public services and flogging country's assets as it did with social housing and utilities. Our kids would be blocked from uni

@ammacj The 'right thing' is what can actually be achieved in the real political world. Not fantasy politics. Labour has a consistent record of doing that from 1945 onwards

@ammacj 2. Lab govts always pragmatic AND progressive. Gave UK NHS, Nat Insurance, school beyond 14, higher education for working class, Open Uni, end of state censorship, legal gay sex and civil partners, abortion rights, end of cap punishment, min wage, Sure Start, devolution, NI peace

@AnslowJA But Starmer says ‘we can’t afford to scrap the cap’, meanwhile affording much bigger sums elsewhere. Or not changing taxation, ‘fiscal rules’ etc. I’m surprised people try to defend Starmer on this.

@ammacj 1. To u-turn in office so quickly would be a political error. Nukes v child poverty is not either or. I'm a republican who wishes Lords was axed and we were in EU, Schengen and Euro. I'd prefer us to have a unified defence force without nukes.

@AnslowJA You prove my point. Labour choose nukes over child poverty. Just one example. Horrible. But Starmer’s done plenty u-turns, why not now?

@ammacj Don't have time/space to cover all. Lab said when running it wouldn't scrap cap immediately. To reverse that stance as soon as it took office would be breach of faith. Think it'll address cap structurally in autumn budget. Ditto, it pledged to retain nukes. Can't then cut them.

@AnslowJA Customs Union, Single Market, freedom of movement? Labour could do much more but don’t want to because of Brexiteer vote. Why do you ignore my other points?

@ammacj 'Reverse Brexit'? Seriously? That is magical thinking. Would mean another disastrous referendum and dumping the pound. And EU would only consider us if all the polling showed we meant it. Sadly impossible. But I could maybe see us in EEA via EFTA in ten years or so.

@AnslowJA Scrapping the cap can be done now, if Labour really wanted. More progressive income tax. Increased CGT. Less on nuclear weapons. Less on private healthcare profits. Reverse Brexit. And the rest.

@ammacj I disagree.

@AnslowJA Intelligent? Really? A partisan puffing of Labour continuing Tory poverty policies? Pathetic.

@William230616 The government front bech is hugely talented. I guess you are suggesting it isn't. But you are unclear

@hoffman_noa 👍

A win for Sir Keir Starmer tonight being able to suspend a crop of his most problematic and often embarassing MPs

@godfreydanyels There was far more to that, as I suspect you know.